Case studies · 148 projects
Every project is a constraint someone had to solve.
Not portfolio shots. The brief, the thing that made it hard, the decisions that resolved it, and the exact stock, foil and ink it was printed on.
The Ritz-Carlton, Waikiki BeachFolders
Foil outside, letterpress inside, blind emboss on the back, folded with half-inch side panels. Three finishes, one sheet.
NumeraiBusiness cards
Numerai’s angular glyphs sit on 48pt black uncoated stock under layered black foil and white pigment foil, not spot gloss varnish.
The Ritz-CarltonBelly bands & sleeves
A cream cotton band, gold foil crest, debossed blossom border, sealed with a foil sticker. The band is the packaging.
LuminarBusiness cards
A lidar company whose logo splits light into colour. White on black, with the I in red, green and blue.
Dina & Austin (Print Peppermint founder)Wedding invitations
Blind emboss, letterpress and Arabic type on double-thick cotton. The client was us.
Minor FiguresBusiness cards
A CR80 hybrid card that has to look exactly like the carton, tap to a Spotify playlist, and survive a wallet. Two PMS colours, one illustration, no compromise on either.
The Ritz-Carlton, Waikiki BeachEnvelopes
Gold foil serpent with fine scale detail on vermilion uncoated stock, folded to 4×7. Fine foil on soft paper.
The Ritz-Carlton, Waikiki BeachBelly bands & sleeves
A belly band that becomes a box sleeve. Four folds, one glue tab, foil on the face only.
SpecimenBusiness cards
Design exploration · Peppermint
One sheet of the loudest paper we stock, a shape nobody asked for, and two holographic foils that refuse to behave. No ink at all.
Design explorationWedding invitations
Design exploration · What if…? series
's-Hertogenbosch, around 1480. The painter Jheronimus van Aken is marrying Aleid van de Meervenne. The invitation has to open like an altarpiece.
Design explorationWedding invitations
Design exploration · What if…? series
Croydon, June. Gary and Linda are getting married at the register office, with a hot buffet at the rugby club after. They've asked Alexander McQueen to do the invitations.
Design explorationStationery
Design exploration · What if…? series
Pittsburgh, Saturday. Brayden is turning seven: bowling, pizza, cake, goody bags. His mom asked Andy Warhol to do the poster.
Peppermint design explorationBoxes
Design exploration · twelve invented brands
One brief, twelve design movements: the same 24 days, built the way each era would have built them, from papers and foils we actually stock.
Dianna & DerekWedding invitations
Three colour-drenched pieces, one hand-mixed ink each, and one bold cut. Then the one we would have cut.
SoundtoysBusiness cards
The deboss wanted one paper. The neon edge wanted the other.
Kismet VendingBusiness cards
A card worth keeping, thin enough to fall out of a vending machine.
FlânageHang tags
A Salzburg concept store needed a hang tag that felt considered on the product. A drilled hole, 50pt bright white cotton and champagne foil.
MDM PhotographyBusiness cards
A photographer's card with a lens-ring mark, the centre raised in high gloss so it catches light like glass.
Studio conceptLabels
Studio concept
Multi-level emboss on a wine label that has to survive a curved bottle.
M3 Creative StudioBusiness cards
A San Francisco design studio drew its whole card by hand and wanted one element to catch the light. Yellow gold foil on 16-point silk matte stock.
Studio conceptBoxes
Studio concept
Tone-on-tone gloss deboss on matte ivory, over a mirror-copper base.
Studio conceptBoxes
Studio concept
Blind emboss only, on a 2 mm kraft rigid mailer.
DevilGrindBusiness cards
A card that is almost entirely artwork. A red skull-rider illustration on black, with raised gloss over the red.
Studio conceptLabels
Studio concept
Copper foil plus pearlescent varnish on oat felt label stock.
IDOLONBusiness cards
Five dies. No ink at all.
Gentleman Farmer Winescoasters
Match a card they already loved. On a different object.
Studio Álvarez InteriorsBusiness cards
A logo that could only ever be printed one way.
O'Rourke Property StewardshipBusiness cards
One ink. One card. Nothing to hide behind.
GladstonesBusiness cards
A seafood restaurant on the Pacific Coast Highway, open since 1972. Gold foil rope borders, a compass star and a ship's wheel on navy.
Studio conceptbooks
Studio concept
White screen print on cobalt book cloth, face and spine.
MINEBusiness cards
The whole card is the wordmark, repeated in varnish. Invisible flat, visible in the hand.
poco+roo CreativeBusiness cards
A studio doing florals, portraits and design needed one card that covers all three. Dusty mauve, a tone-on-tone script and rounded corners.
Studio conceptstickers
Studio concept
Four round matte vinyl stickers with a neon spot colour, kiss-cut on one sheet.
Theresa JohnsonBusiness cards
A graphic designer’s card carried its type and mark in blue holographic or iridescent foil on black uncoated stock.
Peppermint design exerciseNotecards
Design exercise · Notecards · Peppermint
Twenty-five gilded edges read as one silver bar.
Charlie's Heating & CoolingBusiness cards
Copper foil and painted edges on soft-touch. Built to be handed over with dirty hands.
Blackland Oat Co.Boxes
Spec brand · Peppermint concept
A five-SKU oat drink series on uncoated board with no gloss, no laminate and no second colour. Cheap to run, expensive to look at.
Peppermint design exerciseBusiness cards
Design exercise · Business cards · Peppermint
Sixty-eight pieces, one job apiece: prove a single differentiator does what we say it does.
BERO BrewingBusiness cards
Black uncoated, matte gold, green pigment and a clear foil pass standing in for an emboss. Four passes, one silhouette.
Peppermint design exerciseBoxes
Design exercise · Boxes · Peppermint
The same six structures, asked to serve a perfumer, a pharmacist, a welder and a plant shop.
Well-ToldBusiness cards
A brand strategy and identity agency's card with no logo in ink. The name is embossed into white cotton and nothing else is on the front.
Peppermint design exerciseNotecards
Design exercise · Notecards · Peppermint
White line, green field, name on its side.
Salon Paul MichaelBusiness cards
A Westport salon’s stylists needed personal cards with one shared look. Silver hot foil on black uncoated paper frames the details.
Peppermint design exerciseNotecards
Design exercise · Notecards · Peppermint
Rag paper, one line of gold.
BA Salon CollectiveBusiness cards
A Michigan hair salon's monogram, set so large it runs off two edges. Mirror rose-gold foil on warm white.
Lighthouse TattooBusiness cards
A tattoo studio needed a card that doubles as an appointment reminder and a portfolio sample: four-colour process on silk matte with a PMS-painted edge.
Peppermint design exerciseNotecards
Design exercise · Notecards · Peppermint
A notched frame in gold foil on black cotton, name set vertically.
Oditi YogaBusiness cards
A yoga and mindfulness coach's name contains her practice. Copper foil hands form the Y of YOGA and hold an Om above.
Print Peppermint sample packLabels
3D puff embroidery on heather grey. The swirl has to read as blades, not a black blob.
Astraea CapitalBusiness cards
A cryptocurrency and fintech investor wanted a card that feels digital without being gimmicky. A spot gloss halftone on navy and a silver foil mark.
Peppermint design exerciseNotecards
Design exercise · Notecards · Peppermint
Five letters, one word, copper on grey.
Bar & CocoaBusiness cards
A craft chocolate retailer’s card needed to feel like unwrapping a good bar. Gold foil on mid-grey uncoated cardstock.
Marigold & Moss (proof 153071)Business cards
Four-colour art, copper foil and a blind deboss on one 50pt cotton card. Three processes, three passes, one registration.
Peppermint design exerciseNotecards
Design exercise · Notecards · Peppermint
One line of rainbow on green.
Peppermint design exerciseBusiness cards
Design exercise · Business cards · Peppermint
Steel, black steel, brass, copper, rose gold and iridescent. No paper anywhere.
Peppermint design exerciseNotecards
Design exercise · Notecards · Peppermint
One square inch of colour on a white field.
Peppermint design exerciseBoxes
Design exercise · Boxes · Peppermint
Take a finished piece you admire and rebuild the idea in a colourway nobody would mistake for the original.
Lahaina NoonBusiness cards
A resort restaurant's card and coaster from one identity. Letterpress for the pocket, absorbent board for the bar.
Maine Lobster NowBusiness cards
A lobster delivery company's creative director wanted the mark on both sides, done two ways. Red-orange foil on navy for the front, and a blind emboss on white for the back.
Peppermint design exerciseWedding invitations
Design exercise · Wedding invitations · Peppermint
Seventy-six pieces, and the brief on every one was to avoid the default.
Jacob HumphriesBusiness cards
A motion designer's card with a pattern that moves when you tilt it. Diagonal gloss stripes on black, a red painted edge.
Peppermint design exerciseBoxes
Design exercise · Boxes · Peppermint
Answer the category leader without borrowing a single one of its moves.
Bram TihanyBusiness cards
A card with almost nothing on it. A two-level emboss and a name in grey.
Maison Cas RaresBusiness cards
A French curiosity shop wanted its card to feel like one of its objects. Gold beetles and a foil-stamped edge on charcoal grey.
Peppermint design exerciseNotecards
Design exercise · Notecards · Peppermint
A signoff, not a headline.
JB Design StudioBusiness cards
A designer's card with a blocky monogram that reads best upright. A portrait front and landscape back on deep navy with gold foil.
Peppermint design exerciseNotecards
Design exercise · Notecards · Peppermint
Four dark envelopes, four hot edges.
CCTBusiness cards
A test card with an outlined die. Prove the notch cuts clean before the run.
Print Peppermint sample packBoxes
Dye sublimation on a 360° curve. No relief, no seam, and the wrap has to land where the handle isn't.
General BakeshopBusiness cards
A Hudson Valley bakery wanted a card that feels like its paper bags. Heavy kraft, a blind debossed wheat and wood-grain pattern, and maroon letterpress.
Ciara MaeBusiness cards
A designer's own card. Her signature as the logo, foiled into a deboss so it reads by touch.
Print PeppermintBoxes
One mark, one foil, no ink. The whole box rests on a colour difference you can barely see.
Peppermint design exerciseNotecards
Design exercise · Notecards · Peppermint
A ring of dots, one letter, nothing else.
Dreamday DestinationsBusiness cards
A destination wedding planner's card should feel like the first piece of the wedding stationery. Silver foil, watercolour palms and a blush reverse.
Peppermint design exerciseNotecards
Design exercise · Notecards · Peppermint
Five foils, one black stock.
Edge Mobile SharpeningBusiness cards
A mobile sharpening service's card has to be found again in a kitchen drawer. Fluorescent orange stock, with a raised gloss E.
Clandestine – Bijoux Hors TerritoiresBusiness cards
A Corsican jewellery atelier's second brand needed a mark that feels like a found object. One letter C, half in gold foil and half in black ink.
Peppermint design exerciseNotecards
Design exercise · Notecards · Peppermint
A slab of plum, three letters.
Sandpaper SweetBusiness cards
A tattoo artist known for dark imagery in bright colour. The front is holographic foil linework on black, and the back is a full-colour painting.
Peppermint design exerciseNotecards
Design exercise · Notecards · Peppermint
Two words, one blend, twelve cards.
Megabass of AmericaBusiness cards
The US office of a Japanese fishing-lure brand needed a card that matches its packaging. The wordmark in red foil, and nothing else on the front.
Peppermint design exerciseNotecards
Design exercise · Notecards · Peppermint
One glyph, one colour, one raised shape.
Stepp & RothwellBusiness cards
A financial planning firm needed a card that looks trustworthy without looking like a bank. White stock, black type, and copper in two places.
THO AgencyBusiness cards
A portrait card with nothing on it but an ornate key. Gunmetal foil on charcoal, so it looks dark straight on and flashes silver at an angle.
Peppermint design exerciseNotecards
Design exercise · Notecards · Peppermint
A sun you can only see by its shadow.
Print Peppermint sample packBusiness cards
The same engraving on eight species. Each one burns differently, and the artwork had to survive all eight.
Peppermint design exerciseNotecards
Design exercise · Notecards · Peppermint
Six arches, one gradient of stock.
Piping ConceptsBusiness cards
A pipe fitter’s card that has to survive a job site. Three uncoated layers with an orange sheet at the centre.
Peppermint design exerciseNotecards
Design exercise · Notecards · Peppermint
Six cards, one cascade of copper.
Meghan EwingBusiness cards
An acupuncture and herbal medicine practice wanted a card as calm as the treatment room. Dusty rose stock, with gold foil on both sides.
Peppermint design exerciseBusiness cards
Design exercise · Business cards · Peppermint
Thirty-one pieces in PVC and acrylic, and only three of them are business cards.
Peppermint design exerciseFolders
Design exercise · Folders · Peppermint
Folders, hang tags, menus and place cards. Ordered constantly, shown almost never.
Montgomery CorporationBusiness cards
A construction services and inspection firm wanted a card that looks like a nameplate. A brushed silver foil badge on charcoal and a grey reverse with green hairlines.
Peppermint design exerciseNotecards
Design exercise · Notecards · Peppermint
A corner of gold flowers on teal.
Amy KubelkaBusiness cards
A realtor's initial hidden in the most real-estate object there is. A gold foil skeleton key whose shaft ends in a lowercase k.
Peppermint design exerciseNotecards
Design exercise · Notecards · Peppermint
Half ribbed, half smooth, six colours.
SoLo Eye Care & Eyewear GalleryBusiness cards
A Chicago eyewear boutique needed one clear face: yellow gold foil stamped on black uncoated stock, with rounded corners.
Infinited FiberBusiness cards
A Finnish textile-recycling company wanted a card its fashion-industry clients would recognise instantly. Cut as a garment swing tag on 100% recycled cotton, with a red core that shows through the hole and along every edge.
Café de Enrico, BerlinLabels
Design exercise · Labels · Peppermint
Same pouch, same hardware, same copy. One direct print, one embossed badge, one full-height banderole.
Skip Intro AdvisorsBusiness cards
An advisory firm named after the 'skip intro' button. Gold foil chevrons point forward across the card.
Peppermint design exerciseNotecards
Design exercise · Notecards · Peppermint
One word per card, one finish per card, five cool stocks.
Lazzereschi GroupBusiness cards
An East Bay real estate team's card that looks like a surveyor's mark. A crosshair LG monogram on black, with details on white.
Peppermint design exerciseNotecards
Design exercise · Notecards · Peppermint
One small bird, deep impression.
The Fulfillment LabBusiness cards
A fulfilment company with a triangular emblem wanted the whole card to take its shape. Rounded triangle, black stock, red and white.
Peppermint design exerciseNotecards
Design exercise · Notecards · Peppermint
A name you find by feel.
FandomBusiness cards
Frost the whole card until nothing shows through, then let one shape stay see-through. The mark is the only window.
GAALA JewelryNotecards
An 85 mm square that ships inside every box. Gold on black, gilded all four sides.
High Brow Social ClubBusiness cards
A Vancouver, Washington beauty collective wanted one card the whole team could hand out. Rose-gold foil logo on the front and every stylist's name in foil script on the back.
Quail Ridge Country ClubBusiness cards
A private country club community wanted a staff card as considered as the grounds. Two rounded corners make a leaf shape, with blind-embossed branches on both sides.
Badass BittersLabels
Five flavours, one press run. A black plate shared across the set, an accent colour swapped per label.
Asiatico LawBusiness cards
A law firm serving charities wanted its card to say trust without a single stock legal image. Two trapeze artists mid-catch, a red-to-silver foil brushstroke and a painted edge.
Order 206166Boxes
A gift bag ordered by number. Black on black with one gold mark.
The Sun (independent tarot deck)stickers
Every line, every dot, one metal. No ink to hide a weak stipple.
Langdon & EmisonBusiness cards
A Missouri personal injury firm wanted a card that feels solid, not flashy. A tone-on-tone woven mark on oxblood, with a white reverse and a black edge.
TUSKBusiness cards
A tattoo studio’s card needed the name carried by a blind impression, with the small details letterpress printed in black on off-white cotton.
Future Relic KnivesBusiness cards
A graphic designer turned knife maker needed two cards: one for the brand and one to record each knife. Rust-red letterpress, plus a certificate with fill-in lines.
BMBFolders
A three-inch gold foil monogram on navy uncoated cover, and the restraint to leave the rest empty.
Tony Ortiz Barber StudioBusiness cards
A Houston barber wanted a card that could only belong to a barbershop. The whole card is cut as a double-edged razor blade.
TMCNotecards
Three tiers, one template. Colour changes the tier; foil marks the top two.
Nocturne Floral (proof 182849)Business cards
Full-bleed photography on both sides, printed 4-colour on 32pt silk with no lamination. The finish had to stay matte.
Gelt & Glowwrapping-paper
A foil-stamped wrapping paper on a 1.8-inch repeat. Registering gold to a spot blue across a whole roll.
Herbst ConstructionBusiness cards
A construction card that survives a job site. 32pt duplex, letterpress on the grey face, and an orange foiled edge you can find in a truck.
Tattoos by DioBusiness cards
A custom tattoo artist whose tagline has a swear word in it. It's printed as ghost text, with a red foil skull and a red reverse with silver foil.
PTChangtags
A swing tag spec sheet with five lines on it. Deboss, black, 5 mm hole, 2-inch cord, done.
Capra BankBusiness cards
32pt soft-touch, gold foil both sides, PMS 654 painted edge. Corporate, but felt.
FletcherBoxes
A 9×12×4 rigid box, one foil, one word. The die-line was the whole brief.
JADEBusiness cards
An aerospace and defense company that doesn't need to shout. The logo is in black gloss on matte black, visible only when it catches the light.
Private wedding, Santa BarbaraWedding invitations
A welcome-party card that sets the weekend's tone before the invitation does. Two colours, deep impression, beachy edge.
Aloha Friday (studio print)Menus & programs
Two risograph drums, one word, deliberate misregistration.
Synchro ProductionsBusiness cards
A filmmaker’s card needed a foil image with depth. Purple foil and silver foil were stamped in overlapping layers on black uncoated stock.
Brie Brewer weddingMenus & programs
Hairline gold foil geometry on uncoated navy. The lines had to hold.
Property Valuation Inc.Business cards
A commercial real estate appraisal firm wanted a front with only its monogram. A silver foil pV on deep navy.
1979 (Nineteen Seventy Nine)Boxes
A control panel, letterpressed onto the box it ships in.
Zirkle AdvisorsBusiness cards
A business law firm wanted a card that feels solid and considered. Navy stock with the ZA monogram repeated in clear gloss across the whole face.
Haddad's Inc.Business cards
A Pittsburgh film equipment rental company with a crew of phone numbers and an emergency breakdown line wanted a card that stands out. Holographic foil for every line on black.
Urbane InteriorsLetterhead
Kraft, olive, cream, charcoal and a patterned liner, all reading as one brand.
AP ShrewsburyBusiness cards
A card with the line “Cultivate Wonder” on the back had to deliver some wonder itself. Geometric-pattern rainbow foil on pearlized paper.
Crystal CardsNotecards
Twenty cards, twenty stones, one deck. Full-colour on soft-touch so the illustrations stay matte in the hand.
Filmbalaya FilmsBusiness cards
A New Orleans wedding videographer and photographer wanted a card with the city in it. A rose-gold foil crawfish and fleur-de-lis on black.
Jana Carrey ApothecaryLabels
A label family that scales from half an ounce to two without redrawing.
The Crafted ExperienceBusiness cards
A Charlotte events and consulting brand needed a card as distinctive as its cocktail classes. One custom die shape on two silk matte laminated colourways.
Challenger BrokersBusiness cards
A Bay Ridge brokerage with a signature-script logo needed it to look signed. Rose gold foil on triple-thick black onyx soft-touch paper.
Erinn Basu AstrologyNotecards
A custom-shaped QR code that still scans, on silk, in one ink.
Sellstate Altitude RealtyBusiness cards
A Colorado brokerage whose tagline is about unlocking your next move. The card is cut as a house key.
VladaBoxes
One word, no ink. The box is the colour and the name is texture.
Peppermint design exerciseBusiness cards
Design exercise · Business cards · Peppermint
An NFC card has a chip and a coil inside it. Every material hides them differently, and one shows them off.
Peppermint design exerciseBusiness cards
Design exercise · Business cards · Peppermint